Inamo

From Springwise

"The impatient and hungry tech-heads of London have been given a new treat with the launch of Inamo, a pan-Asian restaurant that has canned the traditional printed menu in favour of an interactive ordering system. An illustrated menu is projected onto the diners’ touch-sensitive table, which also lets customers personalize the décor of the booth by selecting sounds and animated, projected table ‘cloths’. While waiting for their meal—the pan-Asian menu was created by head chef Anthony Sousa Tam, previously of Nobu, Ubon and Hakkasan—diners can use the touch-table to watch a live feed of their chefs at work, or to find information on what’s happening in the neighbourhood. Should the evening be going well, courting couples can use the system to book a taxi home, or if the evening descends into kill-me-now silence, rescue is at hand in the form of the system’s built-in games.

The restaurant’s inspiration came from the founders’ frustrations at inattentive waiters when dining elsewhere. However, this doesn’t mean Inamo is devoid of the human touch: food is brought to the table by staff members, who are also on hand to answer diners’ questions. The restaurant's designers also wisely avoided a tech-inspired décor, instead creating a look that's fresh and attractive, with technology offered not as the main course, but as an integrated enhancement.

With Adour’s interactive wine bar, and uWink’s entertainment kiosks at tables, food and beverage venues are bringing a digital dimension to their offer. For more on how the offline world—also known as the real world, meatspace or atom-arena—is adjusting to and mirroring the increasingly dominant online world, check out trendwatching.com’s briefing on OFF=ON.

Website: www.inamo-restaurant.com


We went here last week as an agency... does that make us ahead of the trend? It's great fun. Just don't go for the sushi. Everything else is brilliant.

Taste Lab Restaurant

From the ever brilliant Springwise

"Geschmackslabor, German for Flavour Lab, is a new restaurant located in a former school in Bremerhaven. The 'lab' part of the name doesn't refer to molecular gastronomy or food served in test tubes. Experimentation at the restaurant is all about letting customers add flavour to their meals.

Dishes are served ready-to-eat, but diners are encouraged to enhance them by adding one or more of twenty custom-made seasoning oils that Geschmackslabor has on offer. The seasonings are all based on very pure olive oil, which is infused with flavours ranging from Arabica coffee and rosemary to papaya and coconut. Geschmackslabor's menu suggests which seasonings go well with which dishes, but the whole point is for customers to experiment and find their own delicious combinations. The restaurant supplies plenty of bread for trying out different oils before adding them to food, allowing customers to sample a full range of spicy, sour, salty, sweet and bitter. The oils are also sold separately at EUR 4.90-5.50 for 100 ml.

Adding olive oil to prepared food may not appeal to every consumer, but Geschmackslabor's DIY approach to 'finishing' a dish definitely adds a new level of experience to eating out. It's an adventurous, taste-focused alternative to the usual ketchups and hot sauces, and should appeal to those daring consumers that our sister-site trendwatching.com calls trysumers. If you're in the restaurant biz, this is one to experiment with!

Website: www.geschmackslabor.com
Contact: info@geschmackslabor.com

Spotted by: Susanna Haynie"

Zyr Vodka Food Pairing

From Luxist's Deidre Woollard:

"I've been to plenty of wine pairing dinners but what about a dinner based around vodka. The Zyr Vodka Maker dinner at WIld Thyme in Southampton, NY on May 16 offers an entire meal that uses the vodka infused with a variety of flavors. It starts with hors d'oeuvres paired with a classic martini; followed by a martini of scallop ceviche paired with cilantro and jalapeno infused Zyr; curry seared Ahi tuna with a cucumber peanut relish with is paired with a peanut infused Zyr; American red snapper with white asparagus spears, brown butter and pistachio paired with Zyr infused with lemon zest; seared duck breast and foie gras with peppered melon and black olive vanilla sauce paired with an aged infusion of cantaloupe and pepper Zyr martini; a sorbet of wildflower blossoms; and finishes with a caramelized banana and chocolate spring roll with roasted almond ice cream paired with something they call a banana transfusion, a puree of banana blended Zyr digestif. This unique meal costs $85 and the phone number for Wild Thyme is 631-204-0007."

Sounds delicious... but wouldn't it be so much better with some nice cognac or tequila?

Is it a plane? No, it's a restaurant.

Back in August 2000, The Mauel Antonia Hotel in Costa Rica bought this 1954 Model US cargo plane, Fairchild C-123, for a bargain of $3,000. The plane has a fascinating history, having played a part in the Reagan administration's arms scandal of the 1980s [detailed on costaverde].

It is now a popular attraction in its new home, where it has been converted into a restaurant, bar and coffee shop - suitably named El Avion.

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